English
idiot
Idiot comes from Latin idiota, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης ‘a private citizen, layman’, from ἴδιος ‘one’s own, private’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swé ‘self’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swé‘self’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*swéd-yo-sreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*hwédiosreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἴδιοςídios‘one's own’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἰδιώτηςidiṓtēs‘a private citizen’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEidiota‘idiot’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400idiote
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1896idiot
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swé‘self’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*swéd-yo-sreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*hwédiosreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἴδιοςídios‘one's own’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἰδιώτηςidiṓtēs‘a private citizen’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEidiota‘idiot’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400idiote
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1896idiot
Earliest quotation: 1896, Clifton Johnson, Folks: “Idiots were thought to be peculiarly under the care…”
Equivalent to idi- + -ot
Proto-Indo-European *swé ‘self’
Proto-Indo-European *swéd-yo-s
Proto-Hellenic *hwédios
Ancient Greek ἴδιος ‘own, personal, distinct’
English idi-
Linked words
pairs
- idiot and idiom both from Ancient Greek ἴδιος ‘one's own’
through Proto-Indo-European *swé ‘self’
such, self, solo, suicide, sole, solitary, sans, solitude, desolate, solitaire, swain, desolation, sullen, solus, sere, 19 more
through Latin idiota ‘idiot, an ignorant, uneducated or illiterate…’
Today it means
noun A person of low general intelligence.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *swé / idiot